Which benefits do your employees really want?

New research recently showed that employees value being offered group risk benefits more than employers believe, exposing a growing perception gap as well as myths about benefits.

A study showed that a huge 74% of employers believe that their staff would prefer cash benefits over life insurance, with 73% believing that employees do not value life insurance, despite the costs in providing life cover.

Interestingly, the research showed that 66% of employees would rather take life insurance instead of cash benefits, with a whopping 80% believing life insurance is an important benefit to have.

74% of employers are afraid of encouraging staff to take time off by communicating the benefits of Group Income Protection.

Further research shows that there is a big misunderstanding between employees and employers on this topic, with the study showing that 55% of employees would still be concerned about taking extended time off work if they did have access to Group Income Protection.

It turns out employers themselves are confused about the benefits of Group Income Protection packages.

80% of employers questioned in the study said they regard Income Protection as an important benefit, able to protect their cashflow, despite their concerns in increasing absenteeism.

Here is some interesting statistics which may hint to why Group Income Protection is not being properly implemented:

82% of employers admitted to having lack of expertise with Group Income Protection

79% of employers blamed a lack of time for not implementing the benefit

71% of employers said cost and lack of resources are the reasons Group Income Protection isn’t being properly implemented in their businesses.

A spokesman said:

“There is a huge gulf between what employers and employees think about benefits and a lack of understanding on both sides on the value of employee benefits.

Neither side should lose sight of the central role they play in the working life when you consider the central role they play as a recruitment and retention tool of today. Employers should take time to ensure the benefits package they are offering is one that resonates with their employees, and staff members should ensure they benefit as much as possible from what is on offer in their own specific workplace.”

Interestingly, the study showed 74% of employees said they have a good knowledge of gym membership benefits, with Private Medical Insurance (PMI) coming in second, with 60% of employees saying they had a good level of understanding on PMI.

Offering you something extra

Fair Care Employee Benefits is part of Avantus Business Solutions Limited. As such we have access to the world-class Avantus technology platform which is all about improving efficiency and productivity in a user friendly way. And the good news is that as our clients, you can take advantage of that too. To learn more about the Avantus group please visit Avantus.co.uk.